Monday, February 22, 2016

Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola

Everybody drinks, but Sarah DRANK; she drank until blackout, and she did it a lot. So when she decides enough is enough, can she give it up? And who will she be without the bravery alcohol offers?

Hepola is the personal essays editor for Salon.com and that experience shows in this book. It's serious and well written, honest and upfront without being maudlin or defensive or sickly sweet. It's also very funny in places.

I really enjoyed the book, and I learned a lot about the alcoholic blackout - Hepola gives some very interesting medical, scientific information about the brain and it's capacities. It's frightening to recognize what happens during a blackout, and how we probably don't even recognize it in others.